Cuesta Men's and Women's Track and Field enjoyed a busy weekend with their final in-season conference meet in Ventura on Friday and Cal Poly's Conover Classic on Saturday. The men took 4th in Ventura, while the women climbed the podium for the team Silver, however they both finished 8th at Cal Poly.
The women's team has become a powerhouse this year, but for the first time this season they did not win a scoring meet. The took 2nd at the Western State Conference Coast Meet and a distant 8th with their abbreviated three-woman squad at Cal Poly. The women's team was highlighted by Newcomer Kiera Taylor, who began her third sport of her freshman year. Taylor played volleyball in the Fall and helped women's basketball reach the playoffs this month, but now her running and jumping days have become her throwing days. Last weekend, she posted two Cuesta all-time Top 10 marks in the Shot Put (31-11- 9th) and Discus (129-2-6th), while landing behind teammate Harper Clark (93-6 to 89-11) and taking third in the Hammer. The Cougars also got two new Top 10 marks from Sprinter Gwyndolyn Katics and another from Hurdler Mia Martin. Katics took the Silver and moved into 4th place all time at Cuesta, after finishing the 100-meter run in :12.54. She also moved into 2nd place all-time in the 400-meters at :57.47. She is just :01.04 off Heather Owens' 1986 school record, which is tied with Christi Binns' 400-hurdle record as the oldest marks on the books. Martin has not run the 400-hurdles this season, but her time of :16.59 in the 100-hurdles earned her the final spot on the Cougars' All-time Top 10. In addition to Taylor's and Martin's event titles at the WSC Coast Meet, Thrower Harper Clark claimed the Javelin (81-11).
The men's team only claimed one event title on the weekend, but still shook up the standings with an all-time great performance. On Friday, Freshman Gavin Beck's title winning leap of 20-11.25 in the Long Jump marked the Cougars only visit to the top step of the podium. However, the Cougars also received an all-time Top 10 mark from State Champion Harrier Weston Greenelsh. Greenelsh, who won a State Title in cross country last Fall, moved into 6th place all time at Cuesta with a time of 3:54.18 in the 1,500-meters.
The Cougars are preparing for their final month of the season and have just two more non-championship events left on their schedule. The Cougars will compete as a team at the three-day Mike Fanelli Open at San Francisco State and the UCSB Open the next Saturday.
